He was Russia’s “banana king” — a former foreign languages student who built one of Europe’s biggest fruitimporting businesses.

In little more than a decade, he amassed a vast personal fortune and all the trappings of an oligarch: million-dollar watches, a fleet of luxurious cars and lavish homes around the world. He also spent more than $40 million breathing new life into one of St Petersburg’s oldest ballet theatres.

In London, however, Vladimir Kekhman, 44, is causing a stir for very different reasons: his is the biggest personal bankruptcy case in Britain for at least a decade.